Weeks before New Year’s Day, the Wright brothers made the first successful flight. Few noticed. They were too busy looking to the usual important sources for momentous achievements.

Silicon Valley celebrated the opening of its own U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, a 35,000-square-foot wing of San Jose's City Hall.

San Jose is applying for a $3.3 million federal grant that would restore nearly a third of the firefighter positions lost in a round of layoffs in 2010.

San Jose officials want to travel to Copenhagen, which has branded itself the "City of Cyclists," to study how the area has adapted to cyclists and pedestrians. That and more will be discussed at Tuesday's City Council meeting.

San Jose can cut the cost of extending library hours with a few simple adjustments to its staffing model, according to a new city audit.